FF’s Fairy Tales of Ireland must not be forgotten by electorate
It is apposite that the saint from Hippo should come to mind in describing an attempt by one of the most extravagantly hypocritical regimes this country has ever seen to try to tell the electorate that they had not been taken in by a massive three-card-trick.
Having lied through their teeth to get back into power, a fact now acknowledged by the recent Irish Times/TNS survey, Fianna Fáil have now adopted the Augustinian characteristic of hindsight. Like the reformed sinner, they now would like us to belive that “Late have I loved thee,” that the measures taken, post the general election, were for our own good.
The current position of our Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in issuing the denial that they had misled the voters would put me in mind of another Augustinian quote: “Lord, make me pure, but not yet.”
In the psychology of Fianna Fáil, there is plenty of time before the next general election for them - and the PDs - to take on an appearance of political purity.
Forget the previous porkies they told to get back into power. They believe - they really do - that by the time the next general election, or the local elections or the European Parliament elections, come around the people are so stupid that they will have forgotten the con job they perpetrated to get back.
They, and the PDs, are counting that Alzheimers will have set in a major way in the electorate.
You may remember that a few short years ago when both Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats were pushing for the appointment of Hugh Flaherty to the ECB, against all the wishes of the people, Mary Harney made a profound statement. She said, about that debacle, that the people would not remember it in three months. She was right, because she and Bertie Ahern were returned to power afterwards, and they badly want to hang onto it.
Have no doubt that when crunch time comes around again, a spiel of lies will have been prepared aimed at conning the people to return them to power again.
The fact is, that unless Fine Gael and the Labour Party get their act together in a major way, we could see a triduum of the present little arrangement.
The Labour Party’s success, and especially that of Pat Rabbitte, in the latest poll should not lull them into any false sense of security.
There’s a long road to the next general election and the opposition parties will be up against the most crafty in the business. By that stage, they will be promising to have an extra five thousand gardaí on the streets, medical cards for everybody, and fees for third level education will be dropped.
It is only Bertie Ahern could state this week that there was a concerted campaign by the opposition claiming that his party had misled the voters. Launching a document called What Fianna Fáil Said About The Economy, a production obviously in the same realm of the Fairy Tales of Ireland, as was their manifesto, Bertie Ahern said that the party was following the path it promised voters twelve months ago.
Did he never hear Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy say that there would be no cutbacks, in secret or otherwise? Apparently, not. Maybe it’s associating with Tony Blair that is giving our Taoiseach a defective memory.
Even Mr Blair, and his good buddy George Wubya, would leave Bertie in the ha’penny place when it comes to obfuscation.
In March, Tony Blair said about Iraqi oil that they wouldn’t touch it, and neither would the Americans. The reality is that the draft UN resolution will give total control of the oil revenues to the US and UK, until such time as an Iraqi government is set up, and set up will be the operative phrase.
When he made his unexpected visit to Belfast last April in a futile bid to move the peace process along, George Bush said that the UN would have a vital role to play in shaping the future of Iraq.
Instead, the UN has been reduced to the role of an advisory function, with all operational decisions being taken by the Yanks and the Brits.
Later that same month, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw promised that the UN would have a vital role to play in respect of weapons inspections. The fact is that there will be no role for UN inspectors for the foreseeable future.
The decision taken by Britain and America to invade Iraq, without the sanction of the Security Council and largely in the face of world opposition, was predicated on finding the weapons of mass destruction. Now German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has called for sanctions against Iraq to be lifted “as soon as possible” after he had talks recently with the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, in Berlin.
The move is being interpreted as another sign that Germany is trying to repair relations with the US after months of bitterness over military action in Iraq.
Mr Powell said he was “pleased with the chancellor’s commitment” to the resolution, which in its current form may face opposition from other countries in the UN Security Council opposed to the war in Iraq.
The talks came as the US circulated an amended version of a draft UN resolution, calling for the lifting of sanctions, and mapping the political and economic reconstruction of Iraq.
Analysts say it goes some way to addressing the concerns of countries such as Russia, which are owed billions of dollars by the former Iraqi regime.
There is a diplomatic battle over the rebuilding of Iraq. There was much concern during meetings of the Security Council last week about the extent of the role the UN might play in Iraq, particularly in establishing a new administration. The new draft concedes that a UN special co-ordinator should now work “intensively” with the occupying powers in helping to restore and establish national and local institutions.
Diplomatic sources say one significant change has been made in relation to funds generated by Iraqi oil sales. The new draft concedes that, once an internationally recognised government is established in Iraq, such funds could be open again to claims from nations or entities owed money as a result of contracts established before the war.
As the latest draft of the resolution was circulated by Washington, Moscow said its fate would depend on whether Russian financial interests in Iraq were taken into account.
It seems that with the smell of money taking over from that of cordite, formerly old friends are renewing areas of common friendship.
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